Another Pokemon Journey: Tale of the Strikerfox
by Strikerfox
Summary: An upbeat break from the typical depressingly dark stories commonly found. Reviews are welcome, but important stuff should be sent directly to my e-mail, subject line:fanfiction. Story might be written slowly, but WILL be written to completion.
1. Starting Cast

First of all, I do not own whatever is in this story with the exception of that which is derived from my own overactive imagination. I hate that. The repetitive disclaimers. Everyone knows that you are using ideas that aren't yours, but you have to do a disclaimer anyway. What's worse is the authors who try to be witty and use characters or jokes to tell the disclaimers. No offense, since your type will probably be my readers. Anyway, this is the only author introduction you will probably see for the entire story. I just first wanted to explain why I'm writing this story. Skip ahead, if you must. I like to consider myself a writer, and as a writer, fanfiction interests me. You can find a subject that you know quite well and use that as a basis to examine other writing styles. Taking note on those you like and those that are obnoxious. As for why I chose pokemon? If you asked me if I liked pokemon, I could answer either yes or no, and still be telling the truth. I have played a few of the games and they are enjoyable for the first couple of gyms, but they quickly grow repetitive. I have seen some of the anime, and like the game is enjoyable for five minutes, before I want to hurl my cat at the TV (by the way, I have nothing against cats). In my mind, pokemon is a good concept that somewhere went horribly wrong. There are too many options concerning the way the idea was presented, that could have been easily changed for the better, that weren't, to be rational (why can't it be more like Monster Rancher). So, enter my little fanfic and you won't hear from me again for awhile. Just to let you know I am putting myself into the story, but he doesn't come until later. The first few chapters are about the group he joins, and he only plays a minor role, however, later on he will usurp the story and make it his own. Apologies to anyone who might think I used an idea of theirs, just take it as a compliment. If it really bothers you, send me an e-mail and I will attempt to mutilate my story in order to exorcise whatever is upsetting you, unless of course if the idea truly originated in my left hemisphere, in which case; Stuff it. I'm done, you can read the story now.  
  
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She woke up with a smile. As always sunshine streamed through her blinds giving off a pleasant enough amount of light. She stretched, yawned one and a half times before lightly jumping to her feet. As usual she made her bed. She gathered the clothes she planned to wear for the day and walked into the bathroom. Looking in the mirror she saw nothing special, however anyone else would have been in awe. Somehow, quite to the contrary of every other living thing, she looked more beautiful when she had just woken up. Hair nice and neat, Smooth skin with a strangely attractive gleam, she was very beautiful with a figure to match. After showering and dressing she skipped down the stairs. "Morning, poppa!" she exclaimed, "Guess what today is!"  
  
"I know, I know" he grumbled. 'How could anyone have this much energy in the morning. Must be from her mother's side.' "I'm sorry, but your brother has already left for the gym and won't be able to see you off."  
  
"That's okay, He'll need all the practice he can get, because I'm going to win that badge from him. After I get my pokemon, and train a little bit, of course."  
  
"I still don't like the idea of you traveling by yourself."  
  
"We've been through this, poppa. They will be teaching us for a whole month before we're even allowed to get our pokemon."  
  
"I know, otherwise you wouldn't be going. Now go about your morning routine and we can leave."  
  
"Okay!" She skipped off quickly snatching something off the hook next to the door, and bounding into another room.  
  
Her father grumbled again about youth being wasted on the young before filling up another cup of coffee. "That should buy me a few minutes" he said to noone in particular and picked up the paper. I just hope my little Anna will be all right.  
  
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At a different house, in a different city, a different young girl awoke in a much different manner.  
  
"Ha, ha" a little boy with a sandy bowlcut laughed. He watched as his older sister raced around her room, stuffing random objects in a backpack. Her hair was in total disarray and she was still in her pajamas. He continued to laugh until a door was slammed in his face.  
  
"Out, you little troll!" She snarled, today was just not a good day, "I have to get dressed!"  
  
The little boy rubbed his nose as he went downstairs to tell on her.  
  
Seconds later, the girl quickly overtook him on the stairs, completely dressed, backpack on, and short auburn hair brushed. Grabbing her father's waffle, she ran out the door barely catching the 8:15 bus.  
  
"What was that?" the father asked the little boy.  
  
"She's late." the boy replied. Despite his frequent conflicts with his older sister, he would miss Emily, now that she was leaving.  
  
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Fifteen young people ranging from ten years old to sixteen, got off buses, got out of parents' cars, and simply strolled into the large campus main hall. They all took seats in the auditorium that seemed way too big for ten teenagers and their parents. They crowded near the front in the middle. Soon a large number of unknown people began filling the auditorium. There were a number of chairs up on the stage lined up in a row. Their purpose became clear when certain professors sat in them along with what appeared to be gym leaders. After the auditorium seemed more or less full and the incoming number of people died down, one of the professors approached the podium, slightly in front of the row of chairs.  
  
"Attention. Attention." He gained no response from the crowd, as they continued to talk amongst themselves. He wordlessly pulled a small ball that quickly became larger, from his pocket. With the press of a button a large roar echoed through the building. All eyes turned towards the stage, just in time to see the man at the podium pocketing a once again small ball. "As I was saying, attention. We will now begin. Before I start I would like the chosen fifteen to please stand up." Fifteen young people somewhat clustered together stood up, nervously looking around. "Thank you. These fifteen have been chosen by the panel of professors and gym leaders behind me." He casually motioned at the important looking people behind him. "In order to be chosen, one had to fill out the application and hand deliver it to any one of the judges behind me." The second aspect was much more important that the first, because it allowed the judges to meet the candidates and assure they had the right mindset to care for pokemon. Each judge was allowed to pick one candidate, hence the fifteen judges and the fifteen new trainers." He sat down as an elderly woman approached the podium.  
  
"Anybody can become a trainer," she began, "all they need to do is have a starting pokemon. However these lucky fifteen recipients will be given a starting pokemon, a top-of-the-line pokedex, one free badge, a special gym leader program, and two weeks of training at this university in areas such as wilderness survival and proper pokemon care. "She adjusted her horn-rimmed glasses before continuing. "Also during the course of the two weeks, in your free time you may visit what we have nicknamed 'the vault' ", this earned a small laugh from the panel behind her, and the apathetic wrath, in the form of a mindless stare, that only a teenager can give, from the majority of the audience. "After we adjourn you will receive you dorm assignments. Lunch will be provided to both trainers and their parents in the cafeteria. Any questions?" She looked around, and since noone made a motion to stop her she announced the heads of the boys and the girls' dorms and dismissed everyone.  
  
"Oh, look at that girl, poppa." the blonde girl whined to her father, "It looks like she's all by herself. I'm going to go talk to her." And she raced over to greet the unhappy looking girl.  
  
Her poppa simply groaned and walked off to the cafeteria.  
  
"Hi! I'm Anna! What's your name?"  
  
The other girl slowly looked up, trying to judge whether or not this person could seriously be this upbeat. She had an instant dislike for her. The girl had long blonde hair draped over one shoulder and was very beautiful. At first, she seemed inappropriately dressed, but Emily couldn't figure out why she thought that. The girl was wearing normal clothes, but they just seemed to hang in a way that showed off her figure. Emily didn't like how those thoughts sounded and decided to cut her train of thought and give the girl a chance. "I'm Emily. Nice to meet you."  
  
"Oh, it's just wonderful to meet you too," the girl called Anna gleefully said, "I just know we are going to be the best of friends."  
  
'No way is this girl for real' Emily silently thought, "Uh, sure."  
  
"Do you want to have lunch with me? What is your room number? What kind of pokemon do you want? Can I call you Em or Emma?" Anna rambled off.  
  
'Wow, she is for real. Must really wear out her folks.' Emily contemplated. "Sure, I'm by myself. I'm sure we can talk over lunch."  
  
Neither girl noticed that one of the ten chosen had also stayed behind and had been watching them. "They seem nice." A small fox head poked out of his black messenger bag and nodded its agreement.  
  
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All throughout the two-week period the ten chosen learned a great deal. What kind of berries can be eaten, how to setup a tent, and even certain people that can be counted on to give assistance. They learned that their gym leader program was actually an agreement between the various gym leaders. The number of badges a trainer had would restrict the level of pokemon a gym leader would use. That way the gym battles would become progressively harder and make it easier to train pokemon. The new trainers also took classes, learning about pokemon, types, and evolutions. During free time they could visit with each other or the ten pokemon that would be handed out on the last day. The trainers were also encouraged to travel with at least one other person, since even though there was hardly ever any serious crimes, it was still safer with someone else. Emily and Anna decided to travel together and although they had only known each other for two weeks, they became good friends.  
  
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At the end of the two weeks the ten pokemon experts who had chosen the trainers gathered them on stage in the building they had first met in. They would now receive their pokemon. The ten trainers were gathered in a circle. Emily sat next to Anna who was talking to someone who could only be described as a hunk. He was actually short, barely over five and a half feet. He was thin, but looking closely she could she tight muscles hidden beneath a t-shirt. He had short brown hair that would be better described as clumpy than spiky due to a lack of hair-gel. However, his eyes were a dark ocean blue. They were probably his best feature, but even that wouldn't explain why she thought he was a hunk. He was just good-looking. She concluded it must be his attitude, kinda mysterious, but positive nonetheless. She snapped to attention when she realized that both he and Anna were looking at her.  
  
"See something you like?" he asked. Emily's face flushed, glared at him, and she stumbled over some kind of response. "I meant the pokemon." He innocently explained, gesturing at the center of their circle where ten pokemon now sat. There was a Squirtle, a Bulbasaur, a Charmander, a Totodile, a Cyndaquil, a Mankey, a Poliwag, an Abra, a Gastly, a Weedle, and a few more that didn't seem like they were from anywhere around here.  
  
Anna laughed and Emily turned to her other side to avoid further embarrassment. "Kinda strange, isn't he?" another boy asked. He held out his hand, "I'm David." He was taller than the other guy, and definitely not as in shape, but he did have one thing. He looked plain. Ordinary. Nothing spectacular. To sum up: Boring. She liked him better than the other boy instantly.  
  
"I'm Emily, that's Anna. We're both 15." She replied and shook his hand. She realized she had spent two weeks with these people and the only one she knew was Anna. "So, what's his deal?"  
  
"Him?" David said, "Come to think of it, I don't know. When you're talking with him, it seems like he's your best friend in the whole world, but to be honest, I know nothing about him except his name. Strange name. He's a real charmer though." He finished almost as an afterthought.  
  
"Hmm." Emily turned an unhappy stare at the way he seemed to get along with Anna.  
  
"Oh, don't worry." David said, upon seeing Emily's glare, "He's completely harmless. When I said he was a charmer, I just meant that he gets along with everybody. He has this way of making the most different people mesh together. However, as good as he is, he can't seem to do it on purpose. So your friend is safe. I like how he says things that can be taken two completely opposite directions. It makes him sorta mysterious."  
  
"Okay. Hey, shouldn't we have started yet?"  
  
Just then an elderly man, who Emily recognized as the man who first spoke on the first day, walked up to the group. She noticed that the auditorium had been filled with college students, like before. Professor Maple cleared his throat before beginning, "You have all done well, these past two weeks. When you return to your rooms to pack, you will find your pokedexes, starting badge which proves you are one of the ten annually chosen trainers, and a waterproof manual to jot down notes in. Now, you will each receive one pokemon each."  
  
"Can I have Abra?" one of the younger trainers, a boy no older than Emily's little brother asked.  
  
"I'm getting to that" the professor explained. How does this man have so much patience? "We, the panel, have devised a way that puts the best suited trainer with each pokemon. First, we will let the pokemon wander around and pick their own trainers, if they choose. At that time, noone may callout or encourage a pokemon to come to them. It must be the pokemon's decision. Afterwards we will go through the remaining pokemon one by one. If only one of the remaining trainers desires that pokemon, he or she will receive it. If more than one trainer wants that particular pokemon, than the panel will ask questions about the specific type of pokemon. Whoever gets the most right will receive the pokemon. Are you all ready? Let's begin." The professor than pulled out a whistle and with a short chirping sound the pokemon began moving.  
  
David tensed up as the Totodile began moving towards their side of the room. He clearly wanted that pokemon. She was almost laughed when Totodile hopped into Anna's lap off to her right, but decided against it due to David's slackened features. She glanced over at the boy sitting next to Anna and noticed no pokemon would go anywhere near him. Hearing a low, almost silent rumble, she noticed two glowing eyes looking out from underneath the flap of his messenger bag. Whatever was in there wasn't letting anything else come near him.  
  
The Professor blew his strange whistle again and the trainers without pokemon all moaned. Only Anna, the boy who had gotten his wish for an Abra, and another girl who had enticed a Cyndaquil had pokemon. 'Good' Emily thought, 'At least noone got Charmander.' The professor pulled out a stack of index cards and began. "Squirtle. Who wants to receive a Squirtle?" Only one person raised his hand. "Good. Next is Bulbasaur. Who wants this pokemon?" Nobody offered so the Professor continued, "Bulbasaur is a grass- type, and has two evolutions. It is capable of many nonphysical attacks from poison powder, which can affect a pokemon indirectly, to solar beam that affects a pokemon directly. Very directly. This got two boys to raise their hands, but one gave way to the other. "Next, is Gastly." Surprisingly a girl raised her hand. Once again, a pokemon was given out without any contestation. "How about Poliwag." the professor continued. Only one girl wanted it. As more pokemon were handed out Emily was starting to get nervous; the strange guy next to Anna hadn't shown interest in any of the other pokemon. Did he also want Charmander? "All that's left is Weedle, Mankey, and Charmander. Who would like what?"  
  
"I want Weedle!" David quickly said. Neither Emily nor the boy seemed to be in a rush to object, so David received his precious Weedle.  
  
"Which one do you want?" Emily turned and looked at the boy with the blue eyes who questioned her. Anna had left, leaving only empty space between them.  
  
"Why? So, you can take it!" Emily shouted.  
  
The boy just raised one eyebrow, gave her an amused look and stated, "I only asked because I'm going to let you have it."  
  
"oh." Emily quietly murmured. Maybe she should give him a chance like she did with Anna. "In that case I want Charmander!"  
  
"Take it. I won't be using the pokemon I get anyways."  
  
"What! That's cruel. You're just going to let it sit in its ball?!"  
  
"No. I'm going to give it to the first trainer who I meet that deserves it. I already -have- pokemon. I don't -need- another." He coolly stated. He casually stood up, slung his bag over its proper shoulder, and snapped his fingers at the Mankey. It eagerly jumped onto his opposite shoulder. He then silently walked out.  
  
Anna came running up at that moment and gleefully said, "Isn't he cool! He told me he also had a Totodile once. He named it Clamp. He says he keeps it in its ball because Totodiles quickly become a nightmare. I'm going to call mine Daffodil!"  
  
"-" Emily looked down at the pokeball now containing Charmander, "He did let me choose." She let the Charmander out of its ball and rubbed its head. "I'll call you Rex." She looked up at Anna and told her she was ready to leave.  
  
As the two girls were leaving they found David waiting for them. "Oh. Hello." Anna chirped, "Have we met?"  
  
"Uh, hi." David replied and began speaking to Emily, since she seemed to be in charge, "Would you two mind if I tagged along? I wanted to go with someone else, but he told me that he would see me later and when I turned around he had disappeared and I really don't know anyone and you seemed real nice this morning and..."  
  
David was cut off as Emily shouted, "Enough! Fine! Come with us. First, though, you have to battle me."  
  
"Okay. I guess." David stuttered. Suddenly Emily was a lot more frightening.  
  
"By the way, the other guy you wanted to travel with. It was him, wasn't it?" Emily demanded.  
  
"So, if we go with you, we'll meet him again?" Anna cut in ever so sweetly.  
  
"-We- aren't going with -David-, -David- is going with -us-, right?" Emily said in a way that hardly seemed to be a question, "Say David, why did you want the Totodile before? You seemed very happy to get your itty, bitty Weedle?"  
  
"My friend Strikerfox had one, it always came through for him, so I figured it would be a good start."  
  
"Interesting. Actually, on second thought, it's not. Let's battle!"  
  
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A few minutes later, the three began marching along the trail, towards the first gym they would battle. A happy Anna chatting with an oddly equally happy Emily, and a depressed David bringing up the rear. Both of the girls' pokemon were skipping along the side, while David's pokemon was nowhere to be seen.  
  
"That sure was great, Em. Next time you'll battle me, right?"  
  
"Sure. How about when we stop at the pokecenter. We do have to go to the pokecenter, since David's little Weedle needs -healing-."  
  
"It's one thing that she beat my Weedle. But, did she have to do it with Rex's eyes closed?"  
  
End of Chapter 1 (Just thought I'd let you know)  
  
Footnote: This chapter was mainly from Emily's POV, next is David. Also, next chapter, the mystery man is revealed. Not really that great a surprise. You'll read about his reputation from a fan. Also I figure I should give David some male companionship, so I'll work on that.  
  
Review: Emily and Anna are opposites, with fire and water pokemon respectively, David will continue to have odd and/or strange looking pokemon in order to give Emily all the more room to make fun of him. 


	2. First Gym:The Duck Story:Strikerfox

I don't own -pokémon-, however I only refer to -pokemon- in this story, so  
there should be no problem.  
  
Walking along with two new friends, David felt really out of place. Not only were they both girls, but attractive ones too. If this didn't make him uncomfortable, their conflictingly polar opposite personalities could easily drive someone crazy. They had both already caught two new pokemon, while he still only had one. "Hey, uh, Em, Ann?"  
  
"What now? You want me to catch some pokemon for you, after all yours is still fainted." was Emily's curt response.  
  
"Stop being so mean, you're the one who took the battle too far!" Anna sympathized.  
  
"It's not my fault, all he has is a puny Weedle!"  
  
"Well, maybe he would have more if he had a conscious pokemon to catch them with!"  
  
And away they went. All he had done was say their names. How could these two possibly be best friends? He had been trying to tell them that they went the wrong way at the last fork. In a sudden burst of backbone he told them to shut up and walked off in the correct direction. Emily and Anna paused, looking shocked before silently following him, he seemed to mean business. It was good thing they couldn't see his smile or they would have torn him apart.  
  
After a hike three hours longer than it should have been they reached the small town of Peppibb. It was already after dark and the gym was no doubt closed for the day, so they decided to tour the town. Seeing a popular clothing store, the two girls nearly ran David down. He used the confusion to slip away. While the girls shopped, he decided he would train his Weedle. 'They won't laugh once I get some new pokemon and evolve Weedle!'  
  
A few hours later, the girls returned to the pokecenter to find David moping about the lounge. "What's wrong, you're Weedle still suck?" came Emily's predictable insult.  
  
"Shut up." David stated and walked away. If he couldn't beat a few low-level wild pokemon, what chance did he have against a gym leader?  
  
"What was his problem? I always make fun of the bug." Emily asked Anna after David had gone to his room.  
  
"But what if what if he now agrees with you. I can't imagine how terrible it must feel to only have one worthless pokemon." Came Anna's typical sympathetic remark.  
  
"If you feel so sorry for him, give him one of your pokemon."  
  
"What are you, nuts? I love my water pokemon too much to give up on them!"  
  
"Well, your Magikarp is about as useless as his Weedle, it'll be perfect."  
  
"Stop it!" Anna cried, before running from the room.  
  
Alone except for the ticking of the wall clock Emily had to wonder if that other guy would get upset as easily as these two. Speaking of which, after closing the door, David jumped onto his bed. Something hard was pressing into his stomach. Sitting up he found a standard pokeball. He wondered about where it came from and pressed the release button. A Mankey was jumping up and down, holding a note. "What's this about?" he questioned. The Mankey bounded over and handed him the note.  
  
It read -Don't give up on your pokemon, soon enough it will become more powerful than theirs. This little guy's name is Ee-ee. He'll tide you over until your Weedle evolves. Remember, fighting types are strong against rock types. Be sure to practice his moves.-  
  
"Well, it looks like you're mine now. Don't worry, I'll take good care of you and tomorrow we'll win a badge! Now what moves do you have?"  
  
The next morning the two girls came down from their shared room fully expecting David not to go to the gym with them. To their surprise, they found him standing at the door with his backpack on, ready to go. "Hurry up! I wanna go now!"  
  
Emily and Anna decided not to question him and just go. As they reached the gym, they grabbed David by the collar demanding to know what was going on. "Nothing. I'm just eager to battle. This is the rock gym, right?" David said unconvincingly.  
  
"Whatever, but I'm going first!" Emily snapped.  
  
Entering the gym, it took a minute for their eyes to adjust due to a low- level of light. A big man stood towards the back sizing them up. "Who will be first?" he demanded with a gruff voice that matched his size. "Me! And you're going down!" Emily asserted. She revealed her Charmander, Growlithe, and Magby.  
  
The gym leader went down in about the same time David had, the day before. "Who's next?" the gym leader asked in an annoyed voice.  
  
"He doesn't sound happy about losing." Anna noted.  
  
"He's just a big baby!" Emily declared.  
  
Anna proved to be much quicker at defeating the gym leader, with a simple water gun knocking each of his pokemon out. Now it was David's turn. He threw out a pokeball and out popped Weedle. "Give it to him, Weedle!"  
  
The gym leader's Geodude knocked the bug across the floor. Strangely Weedle was still conscious. The answer to that was revealed as a familiar white glow surrounded it. "Yes! He's evolving! Now you'll all pay!" David rejoiced. Seconds later the glow faded leaving a small yellow rock-thing. "What?" David's voice rapidly grew softer. It wouldn't matter since the laughter erupting from all those present in the gym would have drowned out anything he said anyway. "Okay.return. Try this!" David heaved a second pokeball onto the floor. A Mankey appeared.  
  
"Hey! That's-" Emily began.  
  
"Go!" David cried.  
  
Within seconds the fighting pokemon had decked the Geodude. David had won his first real badge. The one given to him and the other fourteen didn't count in his mind.  
  
"Way to go!" Anna cheered.  
  
"No freakin' way-"Emily stuttered, "Hey! Where did you get that pokemon?!"  
  
"I found it last night, on my bed. Someone left it for me. Although I can't figure out how he got in my room."Before David could finish a massive explosion was heard outside the gym. David, Anna, Emily, the gym leader, and his junior trainers all ran outside to see two people arguing in front of a blackened patch of the gym's wall.  
  
"How was I supposed to know the wall was made of rock?!" the male yelled.  
  
"Duh! It's the rock gym! Personally, I thought they walls would be made of wax!" shouted the female, voice dripping with sarcasm.  
  
"If you're so smart, then how do we bust in!" the male replied with equal volume.  
  
"Uh, hello?" the gym leader said, folding his arms across his chest and lifting one eyebrow. An expression Emily could have sworn she had seen before.  
  
"Oh, uh, we're here to steal your pokemon." The female stated  
  
"Sorry, I can't allow that." The gym leader replied, voice leaving no room for debate.  
  
"Okay, then we'll just leave." The male stated after studying the size difference between himself and the hulk in front of him that seemed to be causing a minor eclipse.  
  
"What was that?" the gym leader said, shrugging his shoulders. He handed badges to the three teenagers, but stopped as he gave David his. "You're lucky to have him for a friend."  
  
"Who?" David asked  
  
"The one who gave you Ee-ee. If he didn't tell you any more, than I won't either. I would like to stay on his good side." The gym leader then marched back into his gym to await the next challengers.  
  
"I never told him that the Mankey's name was Ee-ee." David said emotionlessly.  
  
"Isn't that kinda creepy?" Emily suggested.  
  
"Meh." Was all David replied, "Let's go heal our pokemon."  
  
By the time they returned to the pokecenter, they agreed to stay an extra night and leave the next afternoon. The girls went upstairs to do their girl stuff, while David sat down in the lounge. Looking around, he noticed a bulletin board, with a list of jobs on it. He walked over to the reception desk and asked what it was.  
  
"It's the Pokeboard. People can come in here, and put up small, short, one- shot jobs and then the pokemon trainers do them for a preagreed reward. Feel free to pick one, just to warn you though, you may only accept one job at a time. A young man came in yesterday to introduce it." The receptionist answered with predetermined perkiness.  
  
'Huh. Maybe I'll take on a job to earn some extra cash.' Looking at the list of jobs and their corresponding awards, he decided this was a great idea, and was surprised that noone had thought of it before. 'This one looks good.' -Bothersome pokemon bird stealing my newspaper every morning-. 'I'll just call this number and set up a meeting.'  
  
"Hello, my name is David. I'm a pokemon trainer and I saw your ad. I'm interested in filling it." David then waited for a reply.  
  
"That's good to hear. I se that board does work. Come on over to the address listed and you can see for yourself"  
  
'Alright!' David thought to himself. He walked over to the house described and knocked on the door. "Good. You're just in time." The woman who opened the door said after David had introduced himself. That bird comes by every day, like clockwork, at 9 am."  
  
'Good thing I insisted on going to the gym first thing in the morning.' he congratulated himself.  
  
Soon enough the paperboy came by on his bike. No sooner had the morning paper hit the lawn, than a duck-like creature bolted out of the bushes, snatched it up, and began waddling off. David shouted after it and took up chase. They reached a small pond and the duck-thing turned around to face David.  
  
"Farfetch'd, huh?" David stated after consulting his pokedex. "What do you need a paper for?" The Farfetch'd took a defensive stance with its back to a bush. "Whatever you're hiding must be in that bush! Prepare yourself!" David tossed out Weedle's pokeball. Even though it was now a Kakuna, David felt that it wasn't fair to just change its name. "Get him, Weedle!"  
  
Weedle just sat there. The Farfetch'd rocked back and forth on its heels, determined to be ready for whatever surprise attack this seemingly weak pokemon had planned! Weedle just sat there. The Farfetch'd feinted a couple times; trying to break the enemy's concentration on whatever dastardly move it was preparing! Weedle just sat there. The Farfetch'd started making loud noises to distract the yellow evil! Weedle just sat there. The Farfetch'd was perplexed, it couldn't understand how this thing would attack! Weedle just sat there some more. The Farfetch'd lost it, began running in circles, tripped over its own makeshift sword and bonked its head on a tree. David tossed a pokeball and captured the Farfetch'd. "Good job, Weedle!" Turning his attention to the pokeball now in his hand he commented, "I shall call you Ducky!" Named after a rubber bath toy he had been fond of as a child. "Now let's see what you were up to!" Pushing aside the bush, David suddenly felt horrible. He had captured this poor Farfetch'd that had only innocently been collecting scraps of newspaper, just to make some paper maché furniture! Wait. That's nothing to feel bad about. David shook his head at the absurdity of it all. However, he had to agree that the absurd situation fit an absurd pokemon. The woman gave him twenty bucks and a nice lunch. She was happy to learn that both her newspapers and the strange pokemon would be safe.  
  
As he walked back to the pokecenter he began humming the age-old classic 'Too young to fall in love' and was surprised as a passing teenager picked it up and sang the words. David stopped and decided to greet him. "Hey, you like that song too?"  
  
"Sure, 80's rock is the best!" the guy replied  
  
David quickly looked him over, just long enough to judge the morality of his character, but not long enough for someone to question his sexuality. He was about his height, but ungodly skinny. He had glasses and clothes that would have looked very stylish on anyone, but him. It's not that he was ugly, he just was awkward looking. David decided to only partially agree. "Yea, it's good, but there's other stuff too. You like pokemon?" David inquired.  
  
"Sure. I used to be a trainer, but I don't really like to battle. I only caught a pair of Eevees, but they 'liked' each other and now my parents distribute their offspring."  
  
"Cool. Could you give me one? My name's David."  
  
"Call me Dante."  
  
"Dante? What kind of name is that?"  
  
"My middle name. My first name is Sherman. Which would you go by?"  
  
"Good point. I'm going to the pokecenter to tell my friends about my new pokemon. I've been gone for hours, and I didn't say where I was going or when I was coming back, but I'm sure they've hardly noticed. Wanna tag along? It'd be nice to have another guy around."  
  
"Sure."  
  
David and Dante soon reached the pokecenter, but found it difficult to get through the crowded lounge. There were a lot of people. But something seemed odd. Then David noticed that all the people were -male- people.  
  
"I thought you said you needed another guy around. Looks like you have plenty." Dante remarked  
  
"Let's see what this is about." David replied and shoved and pushed his way through the crowd to find none other than Anna and Emily sitting comfortably on the couch. Anna didn't look too upset, but hen again she never looked upset. Emily on the other hand looked about ready to blow.  
  
"I said -GO AWAY!-" She screeched in the nearest guy's face. "Oh, David, it's about time! Mind if I use you? Good. Attention all boys! Our boyfriend has returned, please depart at once or he might lose his temper and tear you a new one!"  
  
As one every male in the room turned to look at a sheepish David. Poor Dante was stuck right next to him. Emily used the distraction, grabbed Anna's wrist and ran behind the reception desk to take cover, abandoning David to his fate.  
  
A wall of male flesh began closing in on David. However, one part of the wall seemed to breaking away. On closer inspection, he noticed a blue-eyed boy; about 16 years old throwing guys out of his way, in order to make it to the middle.  
  
"You're a lifesaver, Strikerfox!" David said with extreme relief.  
  
"Strikerfox!," Dante excitedly shouted, "not -the- Strikerfox!"  
  
"Hey! You told me your name was Spence!" shouted Anna from where she and Emily had stuck up their heads to watch the action.  
  
"Quiet. Everyone listen to me," he said as he climbed on top of the coffee table, "These two," pointing at David and Dante, "are not the girls' boyfriends."  
  
The room hushed as everyone waited for him to continue. "And neither am I." a great wave of relief went through the crowd, "However," he continued, "I will declare that I have gotten farther with them than any of you ever will."  
  
A sense of hostility rose as the wave of male flesh began closing in again. "Clamp, it's play time and these are your playmates." Spence said as he released a pokeball. What came out caused every man to do a backwards charge, causing many to trip and fall. Clamp was a towering 8-feet tall with humongous jaws. Clamp shook with laughter, before giving Spence a big bear hug. "Air."Spence groaned as Clamp returned to his pokeball.  
  
Anna was the first to talk of the five remaining, "When you said you used to have a Totodile, what you meant was-"  
  
"-He fully evolved." Spence finished for her.  
  
"That. Was. Awesome-" Emily said, "No wonder you said you didn't need that other pokemon. Who would with a behemoth like that!"  
  
"Clamp? He's not my strongest pokemon, nor is he the most powerful one." Spence coolly stated.  
  
David cleared his throat before asking, "What happened?"  
  
Emily sighed, "Same old, same old. Bunch of guys see some pretty girls. -I- thought they would have given up after Ann sent one through the wall over there. But it just seemed to -encourage- them."  
  
Spence raised one eyebrow in a familiar amused expression, "-You- did that?"  
  
Anna blushed slightly before nodding.  
  
'Hmmm. She got mad at me for commenting on that, but when he did it-' Emily contemplated.  
  
Dante spoke up for the first time in front of the people he had just met, "I was wondering, does stuff like this always happen?"  
  
David replied, "Don't you remember my duck story?"  
  
"What duck story?" Emily asked  
  
"Okay then. I'm coming with you!" Dante declared, "I could use a little excitement. If we stop at my house I can get my Eevee evolutions."  
  
"What duck story?" Emily asked again.  
  
"I hate to say it, but I gotta go. I've finished distributing my Pokeboards, but I still have to check on the other new trainers one more time. Make sure they haven't run into any trouble." Spence stated  
  
"What duck story?" Emily asked again.  
  
"How did you know about Strikerfox?" David asked Dante, ignoring Emily for the third time.  
  
"Are you kidding? Strikerfox is practically a legend! He came to our islands about a year ago with weird pokemon, and has beaten every person he's met. They say he even beat the current champion in an unofficial battle. They also say his father is a gym leader and he carries his home gym's badges to give to those he deems worthy. They're good anywhere in place of any badge! He recently started the Pokeboard thing, helps out with the annual 'Chosen Pokemon Trainers Guild' by catching fifteen beginner pokemon for them, not to mention that he has contacts in every city maintaining an aggressive news network!" Dante managed all in one breath.  
  
"Ya see why I go by Strikerfox?" Spence whispered to Emily and Anna, both giggling at Dante's enthusiasm.  
  
'Whoa, did I just giggle?' Emily mentally reprimanded herself.  
  
"How come you never told me all that?!" David demanded.  
  
Spence sighed, he really needed to leave, "Okay, at Professor Maple's insistence I posed as one of the 'Chosen Trainers' in order to keep an eye on all of you for a short period of time. Yes, Emma, that Mankey was from me. I'm warning you, bite your tongue about Weedle. When it evolves, its going to be more powerful than any of your pokemon or the one I gave him."  
  
Emily looked really upset, but after seeing Spence's pokemon, Clamp, decided to take his advice and bite her tongue for now.  
  
"So, I really owe you, huh?" David seemed depressed again, "for the pokemon."  
  
"Sure, but don't worry about it right now, sooner or later I'm gonna need a favor and that's where you come in. My whole 'News Network' that fanboy is raving about is just a bunch of people I've done favors for and owe me just like you now do. And if you're wondering, the gym leader here -is- in my debt as well, just like the lady you helped this morning will forever feel in your debt. I bet if you ever come to this city again there will be a hot meal waiting for you at her house." David seemed to perk up at this encouragement.  
  
"Will you come find us again?" Anna asked, "or now that you've seen we're okay you're not gonna hang around anymore?"  
  
'She seems really upset' Emily pondered, 'Sure he makes me mad, but he has always done me favors.' Emily decided, "I'm sorry, but I can't let you leave, unless you swear you will meet us in the next town. If you make Anna or me," she paused, "That hole in the wall will be nothing compared to what I do to you."  
  
"Sure, sure" Spence sighed, "and you can even meet the rest of the gang." He said as he patted the messenger bag on his side. He raked his fingers through his hair, winked at them all, turned around, and walked out the door without a backwards glance.  
  
"He. Is. So. Cool." Everyone turned to look at Dante, "What?" This time they turned and looked at each other. "Oh, c'mon, it's not like I'm gay!"  
  
"Whatever you say fanboy," Emily started, "it's just that you seemed more interested in -him- than -Anna-. What does -that- tell you? Anyways, I'm sick of this town, in particular the male population, let's leave now."  
  
Fifteen minutes later the four were walking down the trail leading to the next city. "Oh no, I forgot. I still have to tell my parents!" Dante cried.  
  
Fifteen more minutes later the four were walking down the trail leading to the next city. "Oh no, I forgot. I still have to get my pokemon!" Dante cried again.  
  
Yet another fifteen minutes and the four were walking again down the same trail leading the same destination. "Oh no, I for-"  
  
The rest of Dante's sentence was sharply cut off by three distinct 'bonking' noises.  
  
Almost as an afterthought Emily asked, "Are you going to tell us the duck story yet?"  
  
End of Chapter 2 


	3. A Brief Camping Interlude

I do not own Pokemon.  
  
Here's a quick summary, a question mark signifies unrevealed information.  
  
Name of Trainer - Name of pokemon(Type)  
  
David - Weedle(Kakuna), Ee-ee(Mankey), Ducky(Farfetch'd) Emily - Rex(Charmander), ?(Growlithe), ?(Magby) Anna - Daffodil(Totodile), ?(Magikarp), ? Dante - ? Spence(Strikerfox) - Clamp(Feraligatr), ...?  
  
David hammered the last stake into the ground and took a step back. He put down Weedle, his make-shift hammer, and looked at the tent he had just finished setting up. He nodded in satisfaction. As he unzipped the flap and pulled it back, two young girls darted in. David gave a long blink, during which time, he observed, the two girls had made themselves right at home. Scanning the inside of the tent he saw two sleeping bags, two packs, and two girls giving him an annoyed look. What he couldn't find, was an empty spot to put -his- things.  
"Um, what are you doing?" David inquired.  
  
"Neither of us have a tent, so we're taking yours. Thanks for setting it up, looked like hard work." Emily answered.  
  
Anna moved towards the front of the tent, gave a sweet smile, and zipped the door flap closed. "Sorry, but no boys allowed."  
  
David walked over to the pile of wood that would later become a fire, sat down on Weedle and just stared. He shook his head and said, "Should have seen it coming."  
  
Dante, the other male in their group chuckled slightly and said, " Yeah, Emily's been real nasty since she lost that practice match against Anna."  
  
David smiled in recollection. Only an hour after leaving the last city, they had to backtrack so that Emily's pokemon could be healed. "She should have known that one good watergun attack takes care of most fire pokemon."  
  
Dante nodded, "She did, but I think she thought she could still win since Rex evolved into a charmeleon. It -did- manage to take out Anna's magikarp, but that totodile of hers is something else."  
  
"Hmm, it seems like Daffodil is only playing and has no idea about how serious a battle is supposed to be, yet she always wins."  
  
David fell with a thump onto the ground. He swiveled his body to see Daffodil, the clueless totodile, running off with Weedle in her mouth.  
  
"Hey! Get back here!" David yelled.  
  
Daffodil looked at him blankly, then spit Weedle out at him. Deprived of her chew-toy she sulked off towards the tent. Almost on cue, Anna unzipped the flap and stepped out. She scooped Daffodil up and rocked her. "Aww, what happened?" Daffodil pointed over towards David. "David! You apologize to Daffodil!"  
  
"She's the one who was chewing on -my- pokemon!"  
  
Emily stepped out behind Anna and looked at David. She remembered how only a week ago, in this same situation, David would have been blubbering forgiveness, but now he was holding his own. "Ann, leave him be." Emily whistled and Rex came scurrying out of some nearby bushes. "I'm going for a walk, and I'm leaving King to guard the tent." she said as she pointedly looked at David and Dante. Afterall, the girls had stolen the tent fair and square, and it wouldn't be right for them to take it back.  
  
David looked at the growlithe now sitting in front of the door to the tent, King may be just a puppy, but he could be terrifying.  
  
"I'm going for a bath..." Anna said to noone in particular. David and Dante's heads turned toward her. Anna had the strangest habit of commenting on simple things like bathing or dressing, that just seemed to absorb male attention. She really didn't understand what the big deal was, or why it would interest the boys.  
  
Emily sighed as she reached the edge of the clearing, and turned around. "I'd better go with you then."  
  
Anna squealed with excitement, "Yay! We can bathe together!"  
  
The two boys made sure they didn't say or do anything, all the while pretending not to be paying attention to the exchange going on between the girls.  
  
"No. I'm going to stand guard, and so will Rex. I don't trust these two." Emily replied, giving the male duo a stern look.  
  
As soon as they were gone, David released his other two pokemon, and let them play their strange new game. Ee-ee would throw Weedle at Ducky as hard as he could, and then Ducky would hit Weedle back to Ee-ee, using his reed-sword as a bat. It looked funny, but it -was- good training. Ee-ee would work on strength, Ducky on reflexes, and Weedle...well...on being as hard as possible, so the reed strikes didn't hurt. Dante released his two eevees, Molly and Polly (Polly being a guy), watched the game they were playing until he realized what it was, and then quickly kicked the two behind a bush.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------  
  
An hour later, the two girls walked back into the clearing, Emily more sour than ever. A quick look would reveal that she was quite soaked. She marched straight into the tent and angrily zipped the flap close.  
  
"I said I was sorry!" Anna said to the closed flap. "How was I supposed to know Sunshine would splash you?"  
  
The flap partially unzipped, Emily stuck her face out and said, "It's a magikarp! That's all they do! I can't deal with this now, I need to change." The flap zipped closed.  
  
Anna walked over and sat down in front of the pile of wood, I the center of their camp, and pouted.  
  
"Um, Anna..." David began questionly.  
  
"What?! Did Sunshine splash you too?!" Anna replied with a flushed face.  
  
David considered how anger only seemed to make Anna all the more pretty before dismissing those thoughts and turning his attention back to his question. "Um, no. Um, is it safe for Daffodil to have that rock?" He pointed at the yellow rock the little totodile was cuddling.  
  
"It's just a rock. Leave her alone."  
  
"Um, Anna...it's glowing!"  
  
Anna reached over grabbed the rock, marched over to the tent whipped the front flap open and threw the rock inside. It thudded against the back of the tent, and Anna yelled, "It's gone! Happy?!"  
  
David went pale in the face. Anna followed his gaze and realized that it wasn't on her, it was on something inside the tent. Anna turned around and saw a strangely calm Emily sitting cross-legged.  
  
"Now Anna, because we are friends, I'm going to forgive your magikarp for splashing me, and because we are friends I'm going to forgive the fact that a yellow, glowing rock just whizzed by my head...but! But Anna, you just opened the tent after I -said- I was changing. You -knew- I was dressing. But, you still opened the flap...AND with DAVID sitting right THERE!...fortunately for both your sakes I had just finished."  
  
David slowly regained his ability to think and considered how close he had just come. A few seconds before and he might have seen Emily...then he considered the probable reaction Emily would have had and realized that in the very least she would have killed him. He took a deep breath and mumbled, "We should start the fire now..."  
  
Almost as an afterthought or maybe just to fill the silence, Dante collapsed in a fit of laughter and tears.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------- --  
Well, that's chapter 3. It was about half as short as the others, but that's only because the next one will be longer. I just wanted a short chapter to get back in touch with the characters after not writing for awhile. Chapter 4 will be fun, I promise. And I'll have it done by the 15th of Jan. Consider it my New Year's Resolution. 


	4. The Tyrogue Rogue

...do your own disclaimer, the rightful owner's should know already from reading the previous chapters, no real reason for me to write it again.  
  
Here's a quick summary, a question mark signifies unrevealed information.  
  
Name of Trainer - Name of pokemon(Type)  
  
David - Weedle(Kakuna), Ee-ee(Mankey), Ducky(Farfetch'd) Emily - Rex(Charmander), King(Growlithe), ?(Magby) Anna - Daffodil(Totodile), Sunshine(Magikarp), ? Dante - Molly(Eevee), Polly(Eevee) Spence(Strikerfox) - Clamp(Feraligatr), ...?  
  
The four teenagers marched along the trail in the dark to the next city on their pre-planned trip. The sun was nearly gone, but they hadn't yet noticed. Such is the result of drifting into the zen state of mind where one thinks of absolutely nothing. This is a common trick of long- distance hikers to pass hours of walking in what seems a few minutes. Only a disturbance or the arrival of a destination will snap the person out of it.  
  
Daffodil stopped, sat down and began to shriek. This had an effect on the teens in two ways. First, a shriek isn't pleasant to the ears and second, Daffodil was leading and caused everyone behind her to trip. Anna quickly scooped her up and began to nuzzle her while Emily looked around trying to find the source of the disturbance. Quickly fading into the distance of the road ahead was a small glowing light. A quick look at Daffodil, revealed she was missing her new toy, the weird yellow rock.  
  
Emily ran after the nearly gone light screaming, "Stop! Come back here, thief!"  
  
Anna came to the same conclusion as Emily upon hearing her words and took up chase as well, a little behind Emily.  
  
David and Dante shrugged their shoulders and took off after them in a quick trot. As far as they were concerned, they bandit was so far ahead already that if Emily didn't catch him they wouldn't either.  
  
Swerving through trees the Tyrogue paused a second to catch its breath and second-wind. That hysterical girl wouldn't stop following him. He wished he had never grabbed the stupid glowing thing. He had thought it might be some new fighter training tool, but it had turned out to be a stupid, stupid rock. Well, he couldn't just give it back now, at least without a chase and a fight. If they couldn't catch and beat him, then they didn't deserve the stupid rock. He started off again when he heard barking from behind, and clutched the rock in front of him to give off less light. He saw a familiar grove of trees. On the other side of the grove was his special shortcut. If he could make it there, then even the growlithe wouldn't be able to track him. He spotted a nearly hidden stump that was familiar to him. Chuckling at how this pursuers would trip over it, He hopped over it without slowing down, only to smash face first into a branch that he swore hadn't been there a few seconds ago. His eyes reeled momentarily as he lay flat on his back. The few seconds before he hit the branch replayed in his head and he realized the branch had been an arm. He looked straight up and saw a face. He balled his fists.  
  
Emily followed the barking of King to a small clearing. She nearly tripped on a short stump before she saw it. She looked around and determined that there wasn't much light left. Coming from the clearing were some loud thudding noises. She began forward only to get slammed from behind by Anna, who hadn't seen her. She tripped over the stump and the two girls went down in a pile.  
Anna saw a small glowing and hurried forward to scoop up the stolen rock . She looked for Daffodil to return it, but she was wandering towards the strange noises.  
Emily walked stepped forward again, this time nearly tripping over a casually thrown messenger bag.  
  
The Tyrogue couldn't believe it. It hadn't been a pokemon that had stopped him, it had been a human. He had thought dispatching the human would be easy, but this one had blocked or dodged most of its punches.  
The young man caught one of the Tyrogue's fists and drove a knee into its chest, driving the pokemon backwards, stumbling into a tree. The pokemon dashed out, swinging wildly, but the human swivelled behind it. When the Tyrogue faced him again, he grabbed the pokemon's outstretched arm and threw him into the same tree as before. The Tyrogue manages a twin jab to the human's stomach, but wound up with both arms pinned against the human's sides. The man gripped the pokemon by the shoulders lifting him off the ground, then head butted the pokemon sending it for a third time into the tree. The Tyrogue dropped to the ground, barely conscious, trying to catch its breath. The young man motioned at the girl kneeling next to his bag, "Throw me a ball."  
  
Emily stared blankly for a second before understanding that he had been talking to her. She grabbed the bag and began searching. Anna thrust her arms in, trying to help.  
David and Dante walked up at this moment and asked what was going on.  
  
"Come on, it's not that hard. It's a pokeball. Y'know...round...about the size of a baseball." the guy said before turning his attention to the rising Tyrogue.  
  
David and Dante reached over to help too, and since four sets of arms don't have much room to move in an already crowded bag, the bag was upturned and all the contents spilled out. The four teenagers grimaced and began feeling around for a pokeball amongst the mess.  
The Tyrogue charged, aiming a tackle at the human's legs. It had had no idea that humans could be this good at fighting. This thought was temporarily erased as a double fisted uppercut halted its charge. It staggered backward, then forward, trying to maintain balance. The human brought both fists down in an overhead arc smashing the pokemon's shoulders, dropping it to the ground again.  
  
"Look, I'll just get it myself." And he began walking over to the four staring teens, who had stopped searching to watch the action. Their attention immediately turned back to the spilled contents on the ground. Amidst it all a large black, metal pincher reached down and picked up a small round object. The teens looked at the scizor that had just appeared there, and the pokeball it was holding. The scizor lightly tossed the ball to the person, who in turn spun around quickly, heaving the ball at the once-again charging Tyrogue. The ball struck it in the middle of the forehead, and both the pokemon and the ball hit the ground at the same time. A red light flashed and the Tyrogue was gone. The scizor picked up the ball as the person walked over to the four teens.  
"I should have guessed it was you four. Did you get back whatever it was that the Tyrogue took?" Strikerfox asked.  
  
Four sets of eyes just stared. Two pairs in awe, one pair sizing up the scizor and one pair in tears. He turned to the girl that was crying. "What's wrong? I thought you would have been happy to see me."  
Anna glared at him, trying to stop the tears. "Y-Y-You hit that pokemon! How -could- you?!"  
  
He closed his eyes for a second trying to find the best way to explain. He opened them and called out, "Ginsu, the tree," and gestured at a nearby tree. The black scizor walked over and with one jab felled the tree. "And you've already seen Clamp. If I had let them fight the pokemon, they might have accidentally killed it. Fighting it myself seemed the most humane way. Also, I've proven to it that I have techniques and skills worth learning, which will make it much easier to tame. "Okay?"  
  
Anna looked unsure for a moment, but after looking at the broken tree she smiled.  
  
Emily grabbed his attention next by inquiring, "It's a scizor. It's name is Ginsu, like the knife. I got that, however it should be red. It's black. Explain." She continued to examine the scizor.  
  
"Simple. You guessed right on the name. I named it Ginsu because it was a scyther and scyther's have blades for forearms. That should explain it: I am its original trainer." He bent down and began picking all his stuff up.  
  
Emily looked at him, the first time her gaze had left the scizor. "That doesn't explain anything!"  
  
"A scyther becomes a scizor when it undergoes certain trauma while equipped with a metal coat. Typically, the trauma comes from being traded. Subconsciously, the scyther thinks 'I'm not good enough', so the body reacts absorbing the metal coat and the scyther evolves. The same trauma that causes the scyther to evolve, is the same that gives it the rebellious attitude. It was rejected by its previous trainer, thus hates all trainers. It becomes red from the anger it bears. Ginsu evolved differently. It was still the metal coat. And still the 'I'm not good enough' feeling that caused it, but the situation was much different. We were fighting a tough battle, my whole team had been hurt badly, myself included. Ginsu saw the life-threatening danger and underwent the trauma, the difference being that he evolved in my defense. I didn't even realize it was him until a little bit after the fight. I had had no idea that he would evolve."  
  
"Hmm, so is there any difference between the two? The red and black."  
  
"A few. Ginsu is smaller than other scizors, however he's also stronger, faster, and more agile. His armor is stronger than other scizors even though he's lighter. Through rigorous training he's built up a resistance to the normal metal-type weaknesses. Most importantly, he actually listens and works with me, not having the attitude problem most scizors suffer. I don't know if it is because he's black that he's that way, or if it's just my raising. I've never seen another black scizor to find out."  
Emily seemed to decide something. "Well, they may not be a fire type, but next scyther I see is mine. You just wait, you'll get to meet another black scizor some day!"  
  
He shook his head and finished putting his stuff back into his bag. He noticed something was missing and looked around. Daffodil had apparently found a new toy. A glowing prism rock set into a holder to be worn on a string as a necklace. "Um.."  
  
"Oh. Sorry," Anna began and rushed over with the recovered yellow rock, but Daffodil turned her nose up on the yellow rock and gripped the one she had tighter. "I don't know what to do, she doesn't want to give it back."  
  
"Do you know what that is?"  
  
"What? Is it bad?"  
  
"That's an everstone. It once belonged to Clamp. He had wanted to stay a Totodile, so I gave him that. Same battle that Ginsu evolved in, Clamp tossed the stone away, evolving straight into a feraligatr, completely skipping the croconaw stage. He gave up his favored form to help save my life. Come to think of it, a few more of my pokemon evolved during that battle. Anyways, she can keep it if you want. Just understand that she won't evolve if she wears it."  
  
"Really?! That's wonderful! Quick, Daffodil, put it on!"  
  
He shook his head. "Why do totodiles even -have- evolutions if they all prefer their first stage?" he asked noone in particular. He noticed the other glowing rock. The yellow one. "Do you know what that is?"  
  
"What? This?" Anna replied holding up the yellow rock "No."  
  
"It's a thunderstone. I'm doing an experiment on evolutions. A friend of mine asked me to do it. Eevees as we know, have multiple elemental states. The question is if other pokemon that have more than one evolutionary chains are likewise affected by these stones. I just got a Tyrogue. Would you mind if I have that thunderstone. A lightning-type fighter might well work."  
  
"Sure. Seems a fair trade."  
  
Just then, Emily yelled out, "A vulpix! Back off Spence, even if you are the so-called Strikerfox, this fox is mine!"  
  
Spence chuckled that chuckle that one gives when he knows something that someone else doesn't, but wants to make sure everyone else in the area does. "Try catching it. It might work."  
  
"Go! Double-team it! Rex, King!" Emily called as her two pokemon that had been already released charged the vulpix that was just sitting in place.  
  
"Hey, I've heard about that pokemon. That's-" Dante was cut short by Spence's hand.  
  
"Shh, don't ruin the surprise" he whispered.  
  
"Go Overlord!" Emily yelled as she released her magby that her uncle had sent her from the tropics. As one, the three fire pokemon reached the vulpix. The vulpix sucked in a short breath before releasing a flamethrower that engulfed the attacking pokemon. When the smoke cleared Emily's pokemon lay on the scorched earth coated in soot. The vulpix was no longer there. Emily reluctantly recalled her pokemon into their balls and turned to face the others dejectedly. Her face lit up in horror as she saw the vulpix curled up in Anna's lap, nuzzling her. "Hey! What! No! Uh-uh!"  
  
Spence chuckled the same chuckle as before and said "My turn to catch it," he snapped his fingers and the vulpix rushed over and leapt into his open messenger bag.  
  
Anna looked at Emily puzzled, "Kindle was with him at the training camp we went to. Didn't you see her? She was always with him."  
  
Emily shut her gaping jaw and stuttered.  
  
"How could you not know Kindle?!" Dante exclaimed, "His oldest and most powerful pokemon!...But I thought she was a ninetales?"  
  
"Kindle was my family pet," Spence began, "I've had her since I was little. She always favored me above my parents so she became just mine along the lines sometime. I've known her long enough that I understand everything she says. You will here barks, growls, and yips, but somehow I know exactly what it all means. She is -not- just a ninetales. She is a -true- ninetales, the kind in common legends. I would explain right now, but it's already dark." He turned his attention to his messenger bag. "Kindle, could you light the way with a little foxfire?" The pokemon leapt out of the bag and raced through the darkened woods, leaving a string of fire lining the sides of the trail.  
  
"Um... isn't that dangerous? Won't it start a forest fire?" David asked.  
  
"No, it's foxfire, it'll only burn what she wants. It will do no damage to the forest." Spence replied. "Just like the other pokemon you've met of mine, she too, evolved through unordinary means during the very same battle." He began following the nicely lit trail, motioning for the others to follow. "I'll explain while we walk. We have awhile before we reach the city, and for Kindle, there's a lot to explain." 


End file.
